Where are the voices of college presidents?

Here’s a quiz for you. Name the presidents of any three of America’s 4,000-plus colleges and universities.

Odds are most readers flunked that quiz, but it wouldn’t be fair to take points off anyone’s grade. How could the public know the names of higher education leaders, who are largely silent on the great issues of the day? Today’s presidents only get noticed if they say something outrageous (Harvard’s Lawrence Summers’s comments about women and science), live too lavishly (former American University President Benjamin Ladner), or make millions (Lynn University’s Donald Ross).

It hasn’t always been this way. Father Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame, who led that institution for 35 years, declared, "Anyone who refuses to speak out off campus does not deserve to be listened to on campus." Many 20th-century university presidents also served as ambassadors and heads of major national commissions. Think Clark Kerr of the University of California, Jill Kerr Conway of Smith, Kingman Brewster of Yale, and Robert Hutchins and Edward Levi of the University of Chicago. Reporters knew to call them for opinions on the burning issues of the day.

By John Merrow

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1221/p09s03-coop.html?s=hns

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Marshall’s Strategic Vision needs everyone’s input

The Strategic Vision Process announced recently by Marshall University is a call to action. It beckons all members of the Marshall family to contribute informed ideas that will help guide and shape our future.

The process outlined is comprehensive. It embraces the principles of inclusion, communication, involvement and informed discourse about ideas and goals that will matter most for the future of Marshall.

Like any strategic planning process, the challenges involved are complex. The overriding goal is to maximize the public value created. To be effective, this plan must emanate from a vision of the future that is compelling and transcendent.

The plan itself must be authentic, aspirational, actionable and achievable. It must clarify our purpose, guide us and inspire us each day. It must effectively catalyze collective action in ways that make the best use of time.

In addition, this plan must mobilize and focus resources in ways that prioritize, empower and produce achievements that matter most for the future of Marshall University and the constituent base it serves. Ultimately, this plan must fuel higher and higher levels of institutional performance and achievement.

Stephen J. Kopp

Full Story: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051218/OPINION/512180322/1034